Loom harness



Patented Apr. 6, 1943 LOOM HARNESS John Jacob Kaufmann, Elkins Park,Pa.assigl1,0r to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company,rPhil adelphia, Pa.,a corporation -of Pennsylvania.

Original application December 29, 1939, ISerial No. 311,455. Divided andthis application July 21, 1941, Serial No. 403,302

12 Claims.

This invention relates to loom harness and it relates more particularlyto improved means for mounting, in a loom, groups of heddles forcontrolling the warp ends of the selvage, although it should of coursebe lunderstood that the harness may be used for other purposes,forexample, as Weaving stripes in a fabric in which the Warp endsthereof are manipulated independently of the ends controlled by the mainharness frames.

Heretofore various types of devices have been suggested for controllingthe Warp ends of a selvage, but in such devices it Was usual to useheddles of much greater length than the heddles in the main harnessframes to prevent fouling of the selvage heddles and their supportingparts with the parts of the main harness frames. The heddles customarilyused were of a length sufcient to extend from the top of an elevatedharness frame to the bottom of an adjacent harness frame when the shedis formed in the loom.

However, in the use of selvage harness of the type in Which the heddlesare of greater length, as aforesaid, diinculty arises when a set ofharness is removed from the loom, either for reentering the Warp thereinor for storage purposes, by reason of the selvage harness projecting aconsiderable distance above and below the main harness frames. It,therefore, was customary, when a set of harness was removed from theloom, to withdraw from their heddles the Warp ends controlled by theselvage harness, and to separate the selvage harness from the mainframes. This involves complications when the harness is replaced in theloom, by reason of the necessity to rearrange the selvage harness withrespect to the main frames, and also by reason of the necessity to drawin the selvage Warp separately after the harness is replaced in theloom.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a selvageharness in which heddles of standard length are employed, which heddlesare so mounted that there will be no interference with the free sheddingof the main harness frames, and which selvage harness is vso constructedand arranged that the entire set of harness may be readily removed fromthe loom with the selvage harness left in the proper relationship to theother frames.

A further object of the invention is to provide selvage harness in whichthe short rods, upon which the heddles are mounted, will always bemaintained in their proper horizontal positions, thereby to insureproper freedom of action, and

t'o eliminate crowding of th'eheddles Ytovvardxone end of the rod fasusually occurs when the rod iis tilted.

A further object of the invention is to provide .a selvage harness whichmaybe inexpensively constructed, but 'Which will be durable andeiiicieni-l in its operation. y

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means forconnect-ing the selvage :harness to the actuating straps which willpermit the selvage harness to be readily and expeditiously removed fromthe loom when desired.

'Other objects vand advantages "of the invention will be readilyapparent to those familiar with this type of apparatus.

The nature and 'characteristic features of the invention will be morereadily understood from the 'following description taken :in connectionwith the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of a selvage harness embodying themain features of 'the present invention;

Fig'. 2 is an enlargediff-ragmentary elevational View ofthe upperportion of vthe Astructure shown in Fig'. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, vpartly broken aW-ay, of the portion of thestructure lshown izFig. l2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective vieW illustrating in del tached relationshipcertain of the parts of the structure. Y

It will, of course, be understood that `the description and drawingherein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications 'andchanges may be made in the 'structure-disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the 'invention.

Referring to the drawing, in the particular embodiment of the inventiontherein shown, the heddles i0 may be of any preferred type, butpreferably are of the kind shown, being 'made of thin, 'flat lstrips ofmetal or Wire in which central Warp eyes Il of the kordinary type areprovided. The heddles Tl 0 are mounted on the'heddle supporting bars I2in the lordinary manner. The heddles llil are preferably of the standardlength Ysuch. as are used vin the main harness frames, as it is notnecessary, in the Vpresent selvage harness, to use extra long heddles,as has heretofore been customary.

The heddle supporting bars I2 Aconsist of relatively short memberspunche'd and formed from a metallic strip. The end portions of eachheddle supporting b'ar 'i2 are .reduced in Width,

as at I3, thereby providing shoulders I4 for a purpose to be presentlyexplained.

One heddle supporting bar I2 is provided at the top of the heddles III,and another at the bottom of the heddles I0, and connecting said bars I2are side members I5 also made of thin, flat strips of metal or Wire,preferably somewhat stiffer and heavier, however, than the strips fromwhich the heddles I are formed. In each end of each of the side membersI5 there is provided a slot I6 complemental to a reduced end portion I3of the bar I2 upon which it is mounted.

The arrangement is such that when the side members I5 are mounted withthe slots I6 thereof engaging the reduced end portions I3 of the barsI2, the inner faces of said side members I5, adjacent the slots I6, Willabut against the shoulders I4 of said bars.

The side members I5 are initially maintained on the bars I2 by means ofU-shaped members I'I, each comprising a horizontal portion I8 andvertical portions I9. The vertical portions I9 of each of said U-shapedmembers I`| are slotted, as at 20, complemental to the reduced endportions |3 of the bar I2, for mounting the same thereon. After theheddles I0 and the side members I5 are assembled on the bars I2, theside legs I9 of said U-shaped members II are sprung open to enable thesame to be placed upon the bars I2.

It should be understood, however, that the U-shaped members I'| are notabsolutely essential, and in some instances the same may be omitted; butsaid U-shaped members assist materially in the initial assembling of theselvage harness, serving to retain the heddles III and side strips I5 onthe bars I2 until the other parts, to be hereinafter described, areassembled with respect to said bars.

Each of the bars I2 is provided with a bail member 2|, having arelatively Wide horizontal portion 22 and tWo vertical legs 23. Thisbail member 2| is preferably made from round wire having its endsflattened and spread to a width corresponding to the width of the sidemembers l5, and in the flattened parts of the vertical extensions 23 ofthe bail members 2|, there are provided vslots 24 complemental to theend portions I3 of the bars I2, upon which the heddles |0` are mounted.

The bail members 2| are preferably made of relatively stiff or hardenedmaterial having suflicient resiliency and under such tension as to causethe' vertically extending legs 23 thereof to spring inwardly toward eachother, thereby to hold the various parts assembled upon the bars I2.

The horizontally extending portion 22 of each of the bail members 2| ismounted in a connector 25, the main body portion 2B of Which is madefrom a thin, ilat and relatively Wide strip of metal, preferably springsteel, bent around at one end to form a hook 21 for the reception of thehorizontally extending portion 22 of the bail member 2|, the hook 2`|-having a portion 2'Ia extending a short distance toward the other end.The connector 25 is provided With a closure plate 28, also made 'from athin, at strip of metal, preferably spring steel, which preferablyextends the full length of the connector 25, the end portion 253aextending across the opening of the hook portion 2'I, serving to preventthe selvage harness from fouling on the adjacent frames in the loom Whenthe shedding occurs. The endportion 28a of the closure plate 28 alsoextends in engagement with the outer face of the hook 2'| around thehook 21 of the main portion to a medial point where it is provided withprojecting tab 29 normally lying in an intermediate plane of thestructure, the purpose of which is to facilitate the insertion of thebail member 2| in the hook portion 2'| of the connector 25 by movementof the resiliently impelled end portion 28a away from the opening of thehook portion 21.

The spring closure plate 28 is preferably secured to the main plate 26of the connector 25 by means of tubular rivets 30, one of said rivetsbeing located at the end of the connector 25 remote from the hookportion thereof, the arrangement being suoh that the opening of saidtubular rivet `3|) may be utilized for the attachment of a hook member3| which engages the actuating strap (not shown) of the harness. Thishook member 3| may comprise a single piece of Wire Yhaving a loop endportion 32 which engages the opening provided by the tubular rivet 3|).The other end of the hook member 3| is shaped in the usual hookformation, as at 33, for engagement in one of the apertures usuallyprovided in an actuating strap (not shown) of the harness.

It will be seen that by the foregoing arrangement, there is provided ano-vel form of harness for mounting small groups of heddles in the loomsuch, for example, as are employed for weaving the selvage in certaintypes of fabrics, or in some instances for Weaving stripes therein.

It Will be noted that in the present form of harness, heddles ofstandard lengths may be employed, nevertheless the arrangement is suchthat there will be no interference with the free shedding of the harnessframes. Furthermore, when it is necessary to remove a set of harnessfrom the loom, the selvage harness may be left in its properrelationship therein, by reason of the fact that the bail members 2| maybe readily disconnected from the connectors 25, and when sodisconnected, the overall height of the selvage heddle assembly will notexceed that of the main frames.

Hence, the entire set of harness may be readily removed from the loomWithout requiring the Withdrawal of the Warp ends from the selvageharness, and considerable time and labor are avoided when the harness isreplaced in the loom.

This application is a division of my prior application for LettersPatent for improvements in Loom harness, filed December 29, 1939, SerialNo. 311,455.

I claim:

l. In a loom harness for supporting small groups of heddles, heddlesupporting bars upon which said heddles are mounted, bail members eachmade of a single piece of relatively stiii material and each having arelatively Wide horizontal portion and elongated vertical leg portionsthe ends of which are in engagement With the end portions of thesupporting bars, and thin ilat and Wide steel connectors each having ahook portion engaging the horizontal portion of a. bail member over thegreater portion of its Width.

2. In a loom harness for supporting small groups of heddles, heddlesupporting bars upon which said heddles are mounted, bail members eachmade of a single piece of relatively stiff material and each having arelatively wide horizontal portion and elongated vertical leg portionsthe ends of which are in engagement with the end portions of thesupporting bars, thin ilat and Wide steel connectors each having a hookportion engaging the horizontal portion of a bail member over thegreater portion of its Width, and closure means extending over theopening of the hook portion.

3. In a loom harness for supporting small groups of heddles, heddlesupporting bars upon which said heddles are mounted, bail members eachmade of a single piece of relatively stiff material and each having arelatively Wide horizontal portion and elongated vertical leg portionsthe ends of which are in engagement with the end portions of thesupporting bars, thin at and Wide steel connectors each having a hookportion detachably engaging the horizontal portion of a bail member overthe greater portion of its width, and said connectors each having aclosure Plate extending over the opening of the hook portion.

4. In a loom harness for supporting small groups of heddles, heddlesupporting bars upon which said heddles are mounted, one piece bailmembers each having a horizontal portion and elongated vertical legportions the ends 0f which are in engagement with the end portions ofthe supporting bars, thin nat and wide steel connectors each having ahook portion detachably engaging the horizontal portion of a bail memberover the greater portion of its Width, said connector-s each having aclosure plate extending over the opening o the hook portion and aroundsaid hoo-k portion to a medial plane and provided with a projecting tabat its free end.

5. In loom harness, a bail member made of a single piece of relativelysti round, wire and having a relatively Wide horizontal portion andharness engaging portions extending therefrom, and a thin flat and Widesteel connector having a hoo portion detachably engaging the horizontalportion of the bail member over the greater' portion of its Width, saidhook portion having a vertically extending lip.

6. In loom harness, a bail member made of a single piece of relativelystiff round Wire and having a relatively wide horizontal portion andharness engaging portions extending therefrom, a thin iiat and Widesteel connector having a hook portion detachably engaging the horizontalportion of the bail member over the greater portion of its Width, saidhook portion having a vertically extending lip and closure meansextending over the opening of the hook portion.

'7. In loom harness, a bail member made of a single piece of relativelystii round wire and having a relatively Wide horizontal portion andharness engaging portions extending therefrom, a thin at and Wide steelconnector having a hook portion detachably engaging the horizontalportion of the bail member over the greater portion of its Width, saidhook portion having a vertically extending lip and said connector havinga closure plate extending over the opening of the hook portion.

8. In loom harness, a one piece bail member having a horizontal portionand harness engaging portions extending therefrom, a thin flat and widesteel connector having a hook portion detachably engaging the horizontalportion of the bail member over the greater portion of its width, saidconnector having a closure plate extending over the opening of the hookportion and around said hook portion to a medial Vplane and pro-videdwith a projecting tab at its free end.

9. In a harness connector for looms, harness engaging means comprising asingle piece bail member made of relatively stii round Wire and having arelatively wide horizontal portion, a thin flat and wide steel connectorhaving a hook portion detachably engaging said horizontal portion overthe greater portion of its Width, said hook portion having a verticallyextending lip and an externally disposed closure plate extending overthe opening of the hook portion and resiliently impelled to a positionfor closing said opening.

l0. In a harness connector for looms, harness engaging means comprisinga single piece bail member made of relatively stiff round Wire andhaving a relatively wide horizontal portion, a thin flat and wide steelconnector having a, hook portion detachably .engaging said horizontalportion over the greater portion of its Width, said hook portion havinga vertically extending lip and an externally disposed closure plate ofsubstantially the same Width as the hook portion extending over theopening of the hook portion and resiliently impelled to a position forclosing said opening.

l1. In a harness connector for looms, harness engaging means comprisinga single piece bail member made of relatively stiff round Wire andhaving a horizontal portion, a thin flat and Wide steel connector havinga hook portion at one end detachably engaging said horizontal portionover the greater portion of its Width, said hook portion having avertically extending lip, an externally disposed closure plate extendingover the opening of the hook portion and resiliently impelled to aposition for closing said opening, and strap attaching means at theother end of said connector.

12. In a harness connector for looms, harness engaging means comprisinga single piece bail member made of relatively stiff round Wire andhaving a horizontal portion, a connector of thin flat and wide stripsteel and having one strip portion of hook formation at the end thereofdetachably engaging said horizontal portion of the bail member over thegreater portion of its Width, said hook portion including a lip portionextending vertically at the free end of the hook, and another stripportion of thin flat and Wide strip steel disposed along said rst stripportion, said other strip portion extending externally at one endthereof over the opening of the hook portion and resiliently impelledinto engagement with said hook portion.

JOHN JACOB KAUFMANN.

